Audio 6 - opinions? Versus Focusrite/Akai EIE pro?

It's quite possible this post is not appropriate here, but if it is it gets delete so...

I am considering upgrading my noisy Fast Track. I love my Audio 2 for DJing, and my first thought for upgrade was the Audio 6. However, with research I found that oth products such as the EIE Pro have better feature-set and reviews were positive.

As a Traktor/Maschine/Massive and Audio 2 user, my instinct and experience (the sound out of the Cirrus Audio in the A2 is fantastic) led me towards the Audio 6, but some sort of common sense nonsense is leading me towards the EIE Pro.

Mind you, I notice there are lots of issues with the EIE Pro and dodgy drivers ( I use a MacBook pro).

Does anyone here have any to offers by way of advice on whether to buy the Audio 6 or the EIE Pro? I imagine I'm preaching to the converted here, and I imagine This post may get moderated/deleted, but I figured there's no harm in asking, is there?

Main uses for my upcoming interface: with Logic and Maschine (both in standalone and VST), recording hardware synth (Minibrute), electric guitar, mic'd perc/instrument, and a spare input. Output will be computer recording only.

Any and all input is welcome!


Conor

 

Hi Conor,

I can offer a bit of (hopefully unbiased) input here as the three units you mentioned were all on my shopping list. I'm a PC user and primary use is for sequencing - both audio and MIDI mainly using Sonar. I record vocals, guitars, DI bass, virtual instruments and Roland JV MIDI hardware synths. I was using an old Maya interface and a 16ch mixing desk and decided the time had come to tidy up the whole interface situation.

Like you, I was immediately attracted to the EIE Pro - kinda has that old school mojo going on - and I'd used a lot of AKAI stuff back in the days of 'S' series hardware samplers. I also did the research and checked the forums etc. - man were there some gripes about the drivers! I almost pressed the button on it anyway because it had the send/return capability for my old hardware Lexicon reverb - but I got rid of that unit so it wasn't a 'must have' feature for me any more. In the end the reported latency issues, lack of decent drivers and posts on the AKAI forum from people having problems really put me off so I decided to look at the KA6 and the Scarlett 8i6.

Having used Focusrite kit for many years in commercial studios, the Scarlett was definitely my first choice - until I did my research. Again, there were posts all over the place from people having problems with the drivers - and man, I didn't need all that hassle. I did notice that Focusrite support were always chiming in and trying to help though - so +1 for that. Finally, I checked out the press on the KA6 - certainly had all the features I needed and was apparently rock solid. I duly ordered one, plugged it in and fired it up - pretty much a painless installation - all was looking good...

KA6 sound quality is excellent - maybe a little harsh/brittle - I had to EQ out a few high frequencies but that may well have been my room. I did have the odd crackle and pop when running outside the native ASIO driver (YouTube etc.) but that was no real biggie for me. Really nice little unit and great build quality. The problem I had was trying to direct monitor inputs 3/4 - pretty vital if you plan on using them in conjunction with 1/2. I just couldn't work out where I was going wrong. If you check my other posts you'll see my trials... So if you're thinking about running Guitar/Mic in 1/2 and your Minibrute in 3/4 you're going to get hardware latency as the 3/4 will have a long journey before it gets to your ears if you're direct monitoring. I won't bang on about this as it's well documented in my other posts - but to me it was a deal breaker and I had to return the unit - but what to replace it with?

I checked with Focustrite and apparently the latest drivers were supposed to address the issues that had been causing problems, so I chose the Scarlett 8i6. Plugged in, downloaded latest drivers and have not had a moments down-time since. Not very exciting hardware wise, but sound quality is right up there - slightly warmer, more rounded sound than the KA6. Best thing (for me) is the Scarlett MixControl software routing interface - allows you to assign and configure every possible input and monitoring option you can imagine. It just 'does the job' - period. I also understand that Win 8 & USB 3 drivers are all sorted as well.

Hope that helps - just based on my personal experiences/research. One thing I have learnt though is that what is good for one computer is not necessarily good for another - so I'd make sure you have the ability to buy from somewhere with a good returns policy - you never know!

Rb

 

I think that might be a problem. If only there were some way to test out all these products in a specific set-up, without having to buy them and then endure trial and error.

You comments on the Focusrite have now raised its profile for me.

Thanks for the input RickenBangler!